Puzzling Pieces

I was browsing online and came across a post from a mom who found some simple puzzles that her children hadn't even touched. She donated all but one of the puzzles - which she turned into a fun game for her son. This got me thinking about other things that could be done with puzzles other than the obvious.

1) Word puzzles for kids

Source: No Time for Flashcards

I thought this was an awesome way to re-purpose puzzles that have missing or broken pieces. The ideas here are endless as they can be used for word sentences, making stories, learning to read, even number and colour practice.

2) Flip the Puzzle

For an added challenge that adults and even children may enjoy, try flipping all the pieces over and completing the puzzle with the graphic face-side down. Now you're using only the shapes of the pieces alone to re-create the puzzle.
Source: HackCollege

3) Frame it

Source: HackCollege

Puzzles that are well-loved, but maybe not played with very often might do better on your wall. Once assembled, glue the puzzle onto cardboard or other stiff surface, frame it and hang it up. Alternately, you can use contact paper for something a little less permanent.

4) Make a card

  
Source: Imagine. Create. Express., Janey Powell on Pinterest

How cute are these? Lots of potential for this one. Let the kids colour/paint/sparkle to their hearts' content and arrange the pieces however they deem fit. For the adult in you, scrapbook paper can do wonders!

5) Make a frame

    
Sources: Our Crafts ~N~ Things, A Day in the Life of an Army Wife, Old Fashioned Living

This would make a great kid's craft and a wonderful gift for a family member!

6) Animal Crafts

  
Source: Free Kids Crafts, The Green Classroom

Couldn't resist including these cute crafts. This could work for other animals as well - just paint the pieces accordingly!

7) Puzzle Piece Aliens / Faces / Butterflies

     
Source: Free Kids Crafts, Free Kids Crafts, Making Friends

Another great craft for those left over puzzle pieces. Kids can get extremely creative creating an alien/Earth family or butterflies with the help of some paint, markers, glue, googly eyes and whatever else you have lying around!

8) Skill drills

Source: The Unlikely Homeschool

Another simple re-purpose similar to #1, writing a math problem on one side of the puzzle and checking your answer on the other. With kids, using games to learn makes it all the more fun.

9) DIY Jigsaw Puzzle

Source: Family Crafts

Make a new puzzle out of an old one using spray paint and markers. This could be a nice personalized gift for someone or perhaps a keepsake for your child.

10) Puzzle jewellery

   
Source: Petal's of Cathy's Life, The Nifty Nest

A very fun way of re-purposing puzzle pieces. You can make earrings, necklaces, bracelets. A wonderful option for both kids and adults.

Book display solutions for kids

I have two kids. My eldest (D5) loves to read and devours books. My youngest (S2) loves <ahem> playing with books (this includes chewing on them, pulling them off of shelves and the occasional fling across the room). I want to have a shared space for both kids' books such that they can choose and return them as they please - and here's the kicker - without spending a lot of money. Ideally I want something that displays the fronts of at least some of the books as I'm hoping this will encourage more interest in reading, especially for the little one. I've been scouring the Internet (and Pinterest!) and here are some of the solutions that I've found:

1) DIY forward facing book shelf made out of bookshelf

Source: Ikea Hackers

Such a simple solution made out of stuff that you probably have at home (or could find relatively inexpensively). It requires a bookshelf (any size would do) and some thin, long wood pieces or moulding. I like that the books are displayed forward-facing and that I don't have to drill holes in my wall as this can be a free-standing unit.

2) Rain-gutter book display

  
Sources: Raising Olives, Fairly Fabulous Blog

I like that the rain gutter bookshelves are compact and fit nicely next to a bed - great for bedtime reading and easy for cleanup. I am a little worried that about my son attempting to climb on these or hang off of them, so this may be something I will try when he is older and less prone to his monkey business.

3) Wall-hanging book slings

     
Sources: Penny Carnival, Apartment Therapy, Lori Danielle

The book slings are also comparable to the rain gutter shelves as they take up no floor space and can be customized to fit small (or larger!) spaces. These do involve some sewing (although minimal) and you can choose fabric colours to match the decor of the room. I would go for this next to the kids' beds and probably not open areas of the house as they do tend to stick out (away from the wall) and could potentially allow for bumps and bruises on little heads. One drawback I find of these slings is that much of the book cover is hidden and smaller books may be totally hidden depending on the height of the sling.

4) Ikea spice rack display

   
Sources: Aubrey and Lindsay's little House Blog, Ikea Hackers, Apartment Hackers

When I first saw these Ikea spice racks being used as book shelves, I thought, "What a wonderful idea!". I like that they are narrow enough to fit most walls and can hold quite a few books (if anchored in the wall properly). I also loved the idea of adding these racks to a dresser or other free standing furniture as this makes them mobile and does not require holes in the wall. The racks can be painted or stained to match the room decor. This is something I would definately consider - if only the Ikea in my area would get some of these in stock!

5) Wall ledge book display

Source: I Heart Organizing, One Half World

I think the book ledges are great should you have a larger wall space. They allow for the covers of many books to be displayed at the same time and adds a great deal of colour to the room. I like the fact that they do not stick out from the wall too much and are therefore less of a bumping and climbing hazard. Some of the DIY (and cheaper) solutions do require a bit of handyman work, but nothing too complicated for those seeking this route.

6) Sling book display

Source: Clutter Free Kids

The sling book display is actually something that I would love to DIY as I like the look and feel of this option. It would fit nicely in a little reading nook and again, the fabric can be chosen to match the decor of any room. I have seen some nice DIY options, but again this requires some craftsmanship a little beyond my means. I also saw a post someone create a version of this out of sterdy cardboard which held up quite nicely.

7) Wall book display

Source: Martha Stewart

These wall book displays can be purchased or built and either way can be costly. Not something that I would personally go for, but it does look nice and can potentially hold other toys such as stuffed animals as well.

8) On the floor/table book basket

 
Sources: Baby Budgeting, Hapa LAB

Having a basket or book box is something I did when my daughter was younger and we had far fewer books and much less space. I would keep a stack of books in a basket in her play area and she could flip through them to find what she was looking for. I tried this with my son and the easy access to a basket and books just made it easier to dump out the whole pile of books and spread them all over the room. Personally, I would prefer something that would diplay more of the front covers of the books and have less 'dumping' potential.

9) Book displays out of slats/shutters

 
Source: Something to do

The shutter display is something that would be easy to implement as it would simply involve hanging up the shutter, however I personally like the books upright, not sideways and I think that might make it too high for little arms..

10) Merry Go Round Book Caddy

Source: Apartment Therapy

This is a cute way to display books for the younger folk. I like that it can hold books of varying size and heights. Though it's probably best for board books as paperbacks may start falling off.

There are hundreds of ideas out there on how to store and display children's books including several variations of the above ideas. Hope that you found some inspiration here on how to showcase those books that you will end up reading over and over to your children.

Enjoy. Every. Moment.

That being said, I'm probably going to do some sort of combination of the DIY bookshelf and the Ikea spice racks. Now I still have to figure out how to store all the books that are not in circulation!